Learning Through Internships: Connecting Students’ Passions to the Real World (Transcript)

Dan: Dexter’s at Big Picture High School, and one of the things Big Picture High School tries to do is get the students out into the real world. So he’s interning with us.

Laura: One of the best things about the Learning Through Internship Program is the maturity and growth that you see very quickly, even from 15-year-old freshmen. Having students passionate about what they’re doing really makes a difference in the schoolwork, so we’re able to connect it.

Courtney: The unique thing about Nashville Big Picture High School is our students physically come to our school three days a week. And on those days, we focus very intently on the core subjects that they need. On the other two days, which are Tuesday and Thursday, students pursue their passions and they pursue their interests in the community through an internship.

Laura: The Learning Through Internship process, what we call our LTIs, are a four-year long process.

Laura: So wherever you want to begin.

Dexter: We can start with this. I have like three pictures.

Laura: We start freshman year with the students coming in, doing things such as taking interest inventories. They have to create a resume, they have to practice phone skills. They have to role-play interviews. We make them jump through several hoops before we allow them to go on an informational interview.

Dexter: As my internship, I want to do architecture. I want to become an architect — because my family influence was by my father. He used to be an architect a while ago. And then my mom just kept on pushing me towards that influence, like, “If you just focus and you put your mindset to it, then you can do anything.”

Dan: So you have to know a little bit about everything of everybody that you’re employing — because they’re a part of your team.

Dan: We do a lot of different things every day. And I really want to show them that. We sketch, we design.

Dexter: First we had the men and women’s bathrooms set up right here, and then the janitor’s, kitchen, mechanical room all one side.

Dexter: Mr. Tansey gives me objectives to achieve, and goals to achieve, and lets me use RevIt and SketchUp which are two different programs that we use to make architecture easy for us instead of drawing.

Dexter: It shows me how to push myself, and it shows me that other people are helping me to achieve my goals.

Dan: We’re also out in the field. We’re talking to contractors, we’re talking to business owners, we’re talking to clients.

Dan: Hey, guys!

Man: Good morning!

Laura: I get onsite every two to three weeks. I’m looking for things that he’s seen and things that he’s learned. And it shows that he’s comfortable where he is and maturing in his professional skills.

Dan: He’s really, really grown. I mean, from day one, you know, we were doing sketches; to day two, we’re on the computer; to day three, we’re in the field. Him being able to take all that in, and then understand how all that comes together, I think, has been really his great strength.

Joe: Up! Good! Concentrate on the ball! Good!

Andi: I’m learning to be a professional tennis teacher and professional tennis player. I’m the youngest Certified Professional Tennis Registry Member in the country.

Joe: Look up! Beautiful!

Joe: When Andi first came to me, she was a person that didn’t really think too much of herself.

Joe: One more, up!

Joe: The confidence came as Andi started to take leadership to support the other kids in the school.

Andi: Good! Come forward! Good!

Sherry: Andi’s a better student because her confidence has grown. But in the beginning, he spent a tremendous amount of time with her reading skills.

Andi: I really struggled in the English mostly. And so at night, I’ve just been reading the passage and going through here.

Andi: It goes beyond tennis. He’s like a second father to me. He’s helped me in every aspect of my life. School, tennis, just being there for everything that I’ve been through.

Sheryl: Now we’re going to get into writing the equations for each of these.

Andi: I feel like I’m more responsible as a student. I get my work in on time. I know if I have a problem, I can go talk to my teacher, and that’s something I really struggled with my freshman and sophomore year.

Sheryl: The distance from the foci to any point that’s on that ellipse.

Andi: Equal distance.

Sheryl: There ya go!

Sheryl: Andi is in my Critical Thinking class, and she’s in my Pre-Calculus class. She is also my daughter! The internship, it’s made her a better student, because of the — having more pride and confidence in herself.

Andi: Go.

Sheryl: And her dream is to open a tennis club for the underprivileged.

Andi: What’s next for me is that I’m going to either go to college, or go play on the pro tour.

Courtney: We want them to be excited about their passion and tie that to their education. So they can be successful lifelong learners.

Laura: Every high school should allow the space and the place for students to explore their passion, even if it was just for 20 minutes a day. Maybe it’s 45 minutes a week. I think that they would see some huge benefits.

Joe: Go! Whoo! That’s a great shot! Thank you.

Schools That Work

Nashville Big Picture High School